TBILISI, July 5. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities, together with the Georgian opposition, seek to prevent Tbilisi from getting EU candidate status, Irakly Kobakhidze, chairman of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party, told reporters.

"[Georgia’s] radical opposition is hopeful that the Ukrainian leadership will be among those who will negatively affect the process of granting us candidate status. They will do everything to this end, using [head of the Servant of the People party’s faction in Ukraine’s parliament David] Arakhamia, [Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Alexey] Danilov and [advisor to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Mikhail] Podolyak, who called for opening a second front in Georgia," Kobakhidze pointed out.

Tensions between Tbilisi and Kiev flared up again after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky instructed the country’s Foreign Ministry to summon Georgian Ambassador to Kiev Georgy Zakarashvili and tell him to leave the country in 48 hours for consultations on the situation regarding ex-Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who also holds Ukrainian citizenship. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday suggested that the Georgian ambassador to Kiev return to Tbilisi for consultations. The ministry said that a strong protest had been expressed to the envoy over the former Georgian president’s deteriorating health.

EU leaders granted candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine in June 2022. They also recognized Georgia’s European perspective and expressed readiness to grant candidate status to the country as soon as it fulfilled 12 conditions. So far, Georgia has carried out electoral reform, established an anti-corruption bureau, elected an ombudsperson under the new system, amended the law on combating organized crime and appointed three of five members of the Supreme Council of Justice.